Motion-picture film mechanism



April 26, 1949. E. Bor-:cKlNG l MOTION-PICTURE FILM MECHANISM Filed sept. v2'?, ;943

w www MAS I Y -L :iv// D @f E E d W A wf BY H/s ATToR/vfys Patented Apr. ze, 1949 2,468,025

uN.-IfrE;D..- smi es ente oir-Fica RQGTN-PICTURE FILM MECHANISM" iloxx/aidV Boecking,l Great Kills, N. Y., assignor to Manufacturers Machine &..Tool Co., Inc., Mount Vernon, N. Y., acorporationof New York.

iippii'cation'September 27, 1943,- Serial No.y 5035997 2 Giaims. (01.,74-243) This invention@ relates to motionv picture film. thatlthis. smallmovementl can have atremendous':v mechanism andmoreJ particularly toa` sprocketV effect onr the picture as projected onwthe screen-,1, mechanisml having; lateraly lm guidingV- means. whetheritfoccurs in the camera, in the processing,z

Oneeobjectwof'theiinvention isto providev alight; or inv the projector. Ithas also been 'foundthat and simple high-speed sprocket wheel for interthis lateral weaving-*increases thefwearandgtear.`-

mittently driven film which has lateral guiding on. the ilm, particularly ingthe formA of motion;` means` that will prevent lateral movement depicturef projectorsnowfusedfwhere the iilm-is-ad=y spitevariations in width of the film, It is Icharvanced intermittently at high speed, with conse-z acteristic of` the invention that the mechanism duentjerksion. the hlm.; has a fixed shoulder for one edge of the lm andv 10 It is Customary inmakingmotion picturefcamf: aresilient rotatinggshoulder for the other edge. eras, projectors, ete., to provide a xed guidefat.- Inv the drawings: one edge of A they film. andv to gauge andmeasure'; Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sprocket mechalateral dimensionsv of the machine from. that nism embodying one form of my invention, showguide. This f guide.- alone cannot'prevent;lateral ing same; employed as a guide for thev film in a U3 Weaving; andowingto variationsin width-'.'ofiilmspyojegtor.; it iollows'thatdue to shrinkage it isnot possiblei Fig. 2 is a View in vertical longitudinal section to expecti-.twotiixed guides to stoptheweavingz. through` the sprocket mechanism shown in Fig. l, I; have *discovered `thatthese defectscan all be, withthe axlepartly-broken away; eliminated. by providing a fixed guidef for. ones Fig. 3. is a vertical longitudinal section through 2U edgefot thefilm:andafresilient rotating g-uidefenx a modied embodiment in which the resilient gai-ging` theother.` edge of. the nlm. Dueto-this:v

guide is curvilinear in shape; resilience the; space between, thex two guides',v or: Fig. 4` is -a View similarto Fig. 3, of another shouldersiis; adjusted to. the exactwidthofzthe; modication, showinga different method of asil-m at,tliemoment of passingoverfthedlm-carI sembling thepartsofthe'mechanism and a resill5 rying means ,or sprocket-drums, and lateraleWeav-t ient guide of another shape; ing of the lm is avoided. As shown.in.Fig,s-.v.2.

Fig.. 5 -is afview similar to Fig. 3, of a further 3, ande,- this resilient or elasticguide-,may-baa modification in which the resilient guide includes shouldereddisk. or plate mountedJ on. the carry-f..y a separate wheel which is tensioned by an extering .meansl orsprocket, or itV may be a.A smaller". nalspring,` showing, however, only the two ends 3o roller adjacentwthe.A barrel of the :sprocket Wheel,- of-the carrying-means. spring--pressed.againsty they edge of the film, as.

In motion picture apparatusit is customary to showny inFig.. 5.. move the lm through the various machines such Referringtnow to Fig. 2, inl thesprocket Wheel. as cameras, developers, projectors, etc., by there.. is an, axle 'or shaft Non which the hub, of;

sprocket mechanism` having teeth engaging per- 35 a barrel Il isxed by meansof two tapered pins.v forations near one or both edges of the lm, but. I2. Preferablyformed. unitarily with. this barrel. for various-reasons these periorations` are greater are. two.A sprocket drums I3, I4 which. carrythe in width than the teeth which engage them. It spiocketteeth iaand provide. resting placesfor. therefore follows that lateral registry of the film the film. 53 for. a short. distance inside vof the is not .obtainedperfectly from the sprockets, and fh-,r sprocket teeth. Theseteethengage in theperfolateral guiding-means. for the film are necessary rations Bl intheilmV to guide or drive ..the.hn., where, asinl aprojector or camera, it is necessary forwardas thecase-,may be. Asshown in Fig. 2,. tohave theiilm registenaccurately. The matethesedrumseach haveinwardly extendingshoul-r rial of which film is made is suchthat it someders. Iaand: rims..L Il?.v extending;laterallyy beyond. times tends to shrink with the-passagecf time, .15 the .sprocketiteeth i5., In.thisparticular-.embodiiv and lmtherefore isnot always of an absolutely ment ,oftheinventionthe iixed guideliscarriedf uniformwidth. Furthermore it shrinks longif. and turns'fwithone oiv the rims H.y The thick;1 tudinally and that shrinkage may be Yuneven fromA nest-oi. the leg iaof .the guide. Isis suchthatim sideto .side so. that the lmislaterally wavy. Be` afords4V a surface between. the'tsprocket teetl'iL I5..` cause .of 'these-,facts it .is impossibletouse xed 5o and the.-facef2.of. the guide-whichis slightlyI guides onboth. ends. of thelmfcarrying means. greater. indiameterf than theeadjacent inwardlyl and., no..-satisfactory, way hasA heretofore been. extending shoulder i6, `and the lm therefore;Y

knowngtoprevent :lateral weavingl onmotionoi. tendsto rest onr.this..siirface-of theftguidez-rather theelmiawithin `.thealimitsof the ,sprocket holes than ,.on. the inward-ly extendingashoulder: 6.] Itwillbegoblvious to;those.skil1ed.in.the art Zftheeend-ogthetmechanismfhavinggthe;

resilient guide has a drum I4 which is an exact duplicate of the drum I3 at the other end, and a positioning ring 2I is provided around the outwardly extending rim I'I of this drum to bring the surface between the sprocket teeth and the guide to the same level as the similar space on the drum I3. In -this embodiment of the invention the resilient guide is attached to the drum at or near the barrel II and it is so constructed that its resilient pressure against the edge of the lm is due to bending of the guide between its point of attachment near the barrel and the periphery of the guide opposite the sprocket teeth.

Specifically, this guide or shoulder comprises a disk or washer of thin resilient metal with a center 22 having an opening permitting it to be fitted over the barrel. The center around this opening is recessed and is held on the barrel by a Wedge 23 which presses it against the center of the drum I4. From this recessed center 22 the resilient guide extends outwardly and laterally through a bent portion 2li which brings it to a point laterally a slight distance beyond the rim II and the positioning ring 2l. then extends past the rim and ring in a radial direction parallel to the edge of the film for a distance extending beyond the sprocket teeth I where it has an outwardly turned edge 25 made with a sloped curve so that the edge of the nlm will not catch on it. The guide or washer may be perforated for lightness, leaving spokes as shown in Fig. l. The elasticity of the material of which the guide is made is such that the bent portion 24 and the outwardly turned edge or guiding portion 25 tend to hold the edge of the film resiliently toward the guiding portion or face 2B of the fixed guide I8. It will be seen that this guide will move back when a non-shrunk section of lm is passing, though continuing to hold it against the face o-f the xed guide, or will also hold a narrow or shrunken piece of lm against the fixed guide by moving in toward the rim and ring. This decreases the wear and tear on the sprocket teeth and the holes in the film, and eliminates noise.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 functions in much the same manner but provides a construction in which the parts are more easily replaced. Thus the barrel 26 is keyed to the shaft 2l on which it is mounted, the high surfaces laterally outside of the sprocket teeth (which in Fig. 2 were supplied by one leg of the fixed guide and by the positioning ring) are now made integrally with the drums and both guides are removably attached at points near the barrel. Thus the fixed guide 68 is shaped almost exactly like the resilient guide of Fig. 2 but is made of heavy nonresilient metal and is fastened onto the end of the shaft 2'I by means of a screw 28. The shaft is of such a length that when this screw is turned tight it holds the fixed guide tight between its head and the end of the barrel, thereby holding the sprocket on the shaft. The resilient guide is shaped somewhat like the resilient guide of Fig. 2 but instead of the angle bend 24 there is an S- shaped or return bend 29 between the center 35 and the guiding face or periphery 3 I. This form provides additional resilience. This resilient guide is shown fastened between the barrel and the drum by a nut 32 threaded on the end of the barrel.

.In some ways, Fig. 4 resembles Fig. 2 more closely than Fig. 3. The sprocket drums are fastened on the shaft 33 by a screw 34 fastened The guide e through the midpoint of the barrel 69 and the shaft at right angles thereto. The barrel is split at 'I5 to permit this. The drum I3 and the fixed guide are the same as in the embodiment of Fig. 2 but the exact shape of the resilient guide and the manner of its mounting in Fig. 4 differ slightly from those of Fig. 2. In Fig. 4 the center 35 of the resilient disk is set in a slot 36 in the barrel at a point opposite the outer edge of the rim and ring of the drum I4, and the angular portion 3? is therefore not at such a great angle as in the case of Fig. 2. The peripheral portion or guiding face 38 is the same as in the case of Fig. 2, both as to shape and location. The resilience of the metal in the guide of Fig. 4 is such that if the iilm were extremely narrow the guide would come to rest against the outer edge of the rim and ring, as in the case of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 introduces a slightly different form of obtaining the resilience in that it provides a compression spring which tends to hold the resilient guide against the edge of the film. In this figure the spring and shoulder are mounted on a center different from that of the barrel and the sprocket drum.

rIChe construction in Fig. 5, which is the preferred form of my invention, is the same as the construction in Fig. 2 except with regard to the resilient shoulder. In Fig. 5 the resilient shoulder is mounted on a different center than the barrel of the sprocket drum proper by means of two points 56 facing toward each other and located peripherally a short distance outside the perimeter of the sprocket drum. Revolving between, carried by these two opposed pointed pins 56, is a short shaft 5l on which is mounted a disk 58 turning with the shaft. This needle-point bearing for the disk located outside the film edge permits the disk to turn with the greatest of ease merely as a result of its contact with the edge of the film. This disk presents to the lm a face recessed at its center at 59 and providing resilient pressure against the edge of the nlm by virtue of a compression spring 60 mounted on the shaft 5l. The spring takes against a head on the shaft 5l and revolves with the shaft and disk. With the exception of the location of the resilient shoulder, the similarity to the form of Fig. 2 will be apparent.

It will be noted in all these constructions that the invention lends itself to maintenance of lightness of weight. This is of particular value where the nlm is advanced intermittently, as is the case in the commercial machines of the day. At the same time it will be seen that although the resilient guide is flexible laterally of the lm, its maximum stiffness occurs in the direction of film travel. This eliminates noise.

It will be obvious that my invention is useful not only for either intermittent or continuous film driving machines but also for feed sprockets, take-up sprockets, sound sprockets or projector sprockets on cameras, projectors or other motion picture machines.

What is claimed is:

l. Hi h-speed sprocket wheel mechanism for intermittently driven motion picture .lm comprising a film sprocket and a. fixed shoulder on one end to guide one edge of the nlm in a xed line, in combination with a resilientguide for the other edge adjacent the other end of the sprocket and revolving about a different center than 'the sprocket, said guide comprising a single disk hav ing a shaft less in length than the widthfof the film, a spring therefor and needle-'point bearings for said disk .and shaft located peripherally b eyond the sprocket wheel in such a position that the side of the disk contacts the edge of the film resiliently near the periphery of the disk, whereby the film is held against the xed guide and wear and tear on the sprocket teeth and holes in the film are decreased and noise eliminated.

2. A high-speed sprocket Wheel mechanism for intermittently driven motion picture lm comprising a film sprocket and a fixed shoulder on one end of the sprocket to guide one edge of the lm in a `fixed line, in combination with a resilient guide' for the edge adjacent the other end of the sprocket and revolving about a different center than the sprocket, said center being axially ol center with relation to the edge of the lm and outside the sprocket, and a spring adjacent 6 the revolving guide and revolving therewith to hold it against the lm, whereby the lm is held against the xed guide and wear and tear on the sprocket teeth and holes in the lm are decreased and noise eliminated.

EWALD BOECKING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,269,366 Barnes June 11, 1918 15 1,815,692 Von Madaler Juli7 21, 1931 1,854,004 Tschopp Apr. 12, 1932 2,312,760 Heidegger Mar. 2, 1943 

